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G. H. OOLLBY.- SHUTTLE FOR SEWING MACHINES;

No. 593,734. Patented Nov. 16,1897.

immlnnmullimm wmur UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrch.

GEORGE H. COLLEY, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO THE WEEKS COLLEY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SHUTTLE FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 593,734, dated November 16, 1897,

Application filed Tune 10, 1896. 7 Serial No. 595,020. (No model.)

ful Improvements in Sewing-Machine Shuttles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. I V

This invention relates to sewing-machines, but more particularly to shuttles for rotatingshuttle sewing-machines.

The primary objects of the invention are to provide a rotatory oroscillatory shuttle which will yieldingly hold the shuttle-thread and automatically rewind or take up so much of the thread paid out by the bobbin as may not be utilized in forming the usual lockstitch, so as to adapt the machine to be used for that class of embroidery-work known as flossing without forming long stitches on the under side of the cloth, which are liable to be out or broken and thereby permit the work to unravel or be easily pulled out, the desired figure or design being formed upon one side only of the cloth instead of upon both sides, as is usual in doing this class of i Work with machines heretofore in use.

The invention will first be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and then pointed out in the claims at the end of the description.

Referring to the drawings, in which similar letters of reference are used to denote similar parts in each of the several views, Figure 1 represents a bottom plan'of a portiorr of a rotating-shuttle sewing-machine,

- showing a shuttle-race similar to that described and shown in my Patent No. 508,600,

dated November 14, 1893, containing a pair of my improved shuttles and also showing a portion of the shuttle-driving shaft. Fig. 2 represents a side elevation of the shuttle-race and shuttle. Fig. 3 is a side view of one of the shuttles removed from the race. Fig. 4 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 3 with the bobbin removed and a portion of the interior broken away so as to show the arrangetain the desired friction or tension. The bed-plate or cloth-plate A of the machine, the shuttle-driving shaft B, and the sectional shuttle race or casing C may be constructed in any proper manner, but are preferably constructed as shown and described in my above-mentioned patent, the casing C being formed with interior circumferential grooves or races for the shuttles andprovided with hinged segmental portions and means for opening and closing the same to permit the removal and insertion of the shuttles; but inasmuch as the construction of the shuttle race or casing forms no part of my present invention it is not deemed necessary to further describe the same or other Well-known partsof the machine herein.

The shuttle D is constructed with a ringshaped main body portion d, having a hook or point d and heel d to afiord a bearing for the shuttle-driver B and also having a pcripheral circumferential rib d to guide it in its race, as is usual in rotary hooks of this class. At one side of the circular opening through said .ring or body portion at is placed the side or face plate E, which is preferably in the form of a disk fitting tightly a circumferential recess in the inner face of the ring d, so as to be held in place without other fastening, and provided with a hollow interiorlyscrew-threaded spindle or arbor 6, having an annular shoulder or collar 6 at its base and a stud or pin 6 near the. circumference of the disk. Beside the stationary plate E is placed the friction plate or disk E, having an exteriorly-screw-threaded sleeve or hub 6 thereon, adapted to fit over the arbor e, on which it may rotate. The disk E rests upon or against the shoulder or collar 6, and between it and the face-plate E is placed a coiled or other suitable'spring F, one end of which may be fixed to the collar or shoulder e by means 6 serving as a stop to limit the movement of the disk E to practically a single, though not strictly a complete, rotation. The spring 'F is thus adapted to yieldingly hold said friction-plate in a fixed position relatively to the side or face plate E, while permitting a limited rotary movement thereof, and to automatically return it to its normal position after it has been rotated by a pull upon the thread carried by the bobbin, the friction-disk being moved in one direction against the tension of the spring by pulling the sh Little-thread and returned to normal position by the recoil of the spring when the shuttle-thread is released. Adjacent to the friction-disk E is placed a.

friction ring or collar G, adapted to fit over the sleeve or hub e in frictional engagement with the inner face of said disk, and by means of lock-nuts II and H, screwed upon the sleeve 6'', the friction-ring may be secured upon said sleeve, and by adjusting and looking said nuts in such position as to cause the ring'to contact moreor less closely with the disk the pressure or friction between the disk and-ring may be varied, so as to-regulate the tension or hold upon the shuttle-thread to meet various requirements in use. A screw head or plug I, having at its outer end an annular flange or shoulder 75, may be screwed into the hollow axis or arbor e, soas to confine the friction-disk (with its attached friction-ring and lock-nuts) between said flange 1'- and the shoulder or collar c on theiplate E. The bobbinK is preferably of the ring-shaped construction shown, having a deep circumferential groove or recess in its-periphery to receive the shuttle-thread that may be wound thereon, and it may be locked to'the frictionring in any proper manner which will render it'readily detachable for filling, as by means of a lug g on said friction-ring G engaging a notch or recess in the bobbin, or vice versa, so that the friction-ring and bobbin shall rotate together. I also preferably place upon one or both sides of the friction-ring a thin friction-disk, of paper or other fibrous material.

The hook-supporting ring (Z has an aperture or channel (1", extending from the inner surface of the ring to the side thereof, 011 which the stationary plate E is secured, this channel being adapted to receive the bobbinthread, which latter passes through said aperture and from thence through an aperture 6 in the center ofthe stationary plate E and out through an aperture 2'', extending centrally of the plug I. The thread is thus delivered from the shuttle-bobbin to the work through the axis of rotation, thereby avoiding entanglement of the shuttle-thread with the needle-thread except as may be required to form the desired stitch.

By the described construction when the bobbin-thread is pulled the bobbin and the friction-disk and friction-ring will rotate together so long as the friction between said disk and ring is sufficient to cause them to move in unison or until the rotating disk reaches the limit of its movement by contact of the stud thereon with the step e on the face-plate, whereupon any further movement of the bobbin will be independent of the friction-disk and by virtue of a force sulficient to overcome the friction or tension caused by the frictional contact of the friction ring and disk, the latter remaining stationary while the bobbin and friction-ring continue to rotate.

By the use of'two or more shuttles-constructed substantially as hereinbeforedescribed and arrangedto operate alternately with a single needle 'I am-enabled to do that class of embellishing or embroidery work known inthe art as fiossing in imitation of the expensive method of performing such work by hand without leaving long threads or stitcheson the under side of the goods, as is done with machines such as are now in use, the bobbin being adapted to permit the requiredlength of thread for the stitch to be drawn out and interlocked with the needlethread and such additional length as may be necessary to enable the goods to be moved for forming a succeeding stitch to be locked by an adjacent shuttle, so as to produce or work the desired design or figure with the needle-thread and to automatically rewind or take up the additional or unused thread when released, the upper thread being locked at each stitch, thus avoiding the underlying threads,which usually form an exact copy of the figure or design formed by the overlying or upper thread and which when broken allow the entire figure or design to become loose, so as to easily unravel or be pulled out, thereby relievingthe upper threads and destroying the work. My present application, however,'is restricted to the novel construction of the shuttle for doing fancy work or for such other purposes as may be desired.

'It will be understood, of course, that various modifications of the described arrangement of parts may be made and that some of the parts might be dispensed with or others substituted therefor without departing from the spirit of my invention. For instance, the friction-ring G might in some cases be dispensed with, orit might be formed integrally with the bobbin, inasmuch as the two are adapted to rotate together, but for greater ease and facility in removing and refilling the bobbin the described arrangement is preferred. The side 01' face plate E might also be made separate instead of being formed integrally with the spindle or arbor c,projeetin g centrally from its inner face, and the plate E need not necessarily be a solid disk and might be formed integrally with the ring or body portion (Z of the hook instead of sepa rately therefrom. Such modifications will be obvious to persons skilled in the art, and

hence I do not desire to be limited to the exact construction and arrangement of parts de- 5 scribed and shown.

Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. A sewing-machine shuttle comprising a body portion having a hook, a rotary bobbin,

tensioning devices therefor, and a spring arranged to yieldingly resist the rotation of said bobbin and to reverse its motion so as to rewind the unused bobbin-thread when the pull upon the latter is released, substantially as described. v

2. A sewing-machine shuttle comprising a ring-shaped body portion having a hook, a stationary plate at one side of the opening in said-ring having an arbor projecting from its inner face, a rotatable friction plate or disk journaled on said arbor within said ring, a bobbin incased in said ring arranged to rotate independently of said friction-plate but 2 5 'frictionally geared thereto so as to rotate therewith, and a spring arranged to resist the rotation of said bobbin and disk and to hold the disk normally in a fixed position relatively to the hook and to reverse the motion of the. o disk so as to return the same with the bobbin to normal position, when moved against the force of the spring; said'frictional gearing being adapted to cause the bobbin and disk to move together and to permit independent movement of the bobbin when the friction is overcome, substantially as described.

3. A rotating shuttle comprising a body portion or ring having a hook and a side plate carrying an arbor, a disk journaled on said 0 arbor, means for limiting the rotary movement of the disk, a spring adapted to yieldingly oppose the rotation of the disk and to restore it to normal position when moved against the force of the spring, a rotary bob- 5 bin, and friction devices adapted to cause the bobbin and disk to rotate together and to permit independent movement of the bobbin on the stoppage of the disk when the frictional resistance is overcome whereby unused 5o thread paid out by the bobbin may be automatically rewound or taken up, substantially as described.

4. A rotating shuttle comprising a main body portion or ring having a hook and -a side plate or cover for the opening at one side of the ring, a hollow interiorly-screw-threaded spindle or arbor projecting from the inner face of said plate, a disk journaled on said arbor, a friction-ring adjacent to said disk and means for maintaining the proper friction or tension between said disk and ring to adapt them to rotate together in frictional contact, a detachable bobbin locked to said frictionring so as to revolve therewith, means for lim- 6 5 iting the rotatory movement of said disk, and

a spring adapted to yieldingly oppose the rotation of the disk and to restore it to normal position when moved against the opposing force of the spring, substantially as described.

5. A rotating shuttle comprising a ringshaped body portion having a hook and a stationary plate at one side of theopening in said ring havingan arbor projecting from its inner side, a disk journaled on said arbor, a spring adapted to-yieldingly oppose the rotation of the disk and to restore it to normal position when moved against the opposing force of the spring, a friction-ring journaled on the hub of said disk, means for maintaining the proper frictional resistance between said friction ring and disk to regulate the tension of the thread, means for securing the rotating disk and friction-ring on said arbor, a bobbin locked to said friction-ring so as to rotate therewith, and a stop for limiting the rotary movement of the disk, whereby the bobbin, friction ring and disk are adapted to rotate together until the motion of the disk is stopped, whereupon the bobbin and friction-ring may rotate together independently of the disk when the frictional resistance is overcome, so as to adapt the bobbin to auto matically rewind or take up slack or unused thread, substantially as described.

6. A rotating shuttle comprising a ringshaped body having a hook, a stationary plate or cover for one side of the opening in said ring having an interiorly-screw-threaded arbor projecting from its inner face, a rotary plate or disk journaled on said arbor, a friction-ring engaging said disk so as to rotate 'in frictional contact therewith, lock-nuts screwed upon the hub of said disk so as to maintain the proper frictional contact between said friction ring and disk, a bobbin having abearing on said lock-nuts and locked to said friction-ring so as to rotate therewith, a screw-threaded plug having a flanged head screwed into said arbor so as to secure said disk thereon, a stop for limiting the rotary movement of the disk, and a coiled spring arranged between said stationary plate and disk, having one end fixed to said plate and the other end thereof engaging a fixed point on said disk, so as to yieldingly hold the disk in normal position and to restore it to such position when moved against the force of the spring, substantially as described.

7. A sewing-machine shuttle comprising a ring-shaped body portion having ahook, a stationary plate fixed at one side of the opening through said ring and having an arbor projecting centrally from its inner face, a rotary plate j ournaled on said arbor,a spring adapted to yieldingly.resist the motion of said rotary plate and to restore it to normal position when moved in opposition to the spring, a stop to limit the movement of the latter plate, a bob.-

IIO

ance, whereby the required length of thread may be paid out by the bobbin and the unused portion thereof automatically rewound or taken up, substantially as described.

8. In combination with the rotary hook having the bobbin and the friction-plate journaled within the ring-shaped body portion thereof, means for regulating the tension of the bobbin-thread, a spring adapted by its recoil to reverse the motion of the bobbin when the thread is released, and means forlimiting the rotary movement of the friction-plate while permitting independent rotary movement of the bobbin when the frictional re sistance opposing its motion is overcome, substantially as described.

9. Arotary hook having a ring-shaped body portion with an aperture for the bobbinthread extending from the inside of the ring to one side thereof, a stationary plate at one side of said ring having a hollow interiorlyscrew-threaded arbor projecting from its in ner face, an extcriorly-serew-threaded plug fitting the interior of said arbor having an ap erture adapted to receive the bobbin-thread, a rotating disk journaled on said arbor, a spring arranged to resist the rotation of said disk, a bobbin journaled adjacent to said disk, and means for creating frictional resistance against the rotation of the bobbin, substantially as described.

10. A sewing-machine shuttle comprising a body portion, having a rotary bobbin, and a spring arranged to yieldingly resist the =rotation of said bobbin and to reverse its motion so as to rewind the unused bobbin-thread when the pull upon the latter is released, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

'GEORGE II. COLLEY.

\Vitnesses:

CHAS. O. Anus, H. E. WATKINS. 

